Judge-Elect Vic Fleming
Arkansas District Court Candidate
Candidate introduction at February 9th Indivisible Judicial Forum at UALR Bowen School of Law
Age: 68
Law School and Graduation Year: UA—Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, 1978
Occupation: Judge
Previous Elected Office: Little Rock Municipal Judge, Second Division (1997-2000); Little Rock District Judge, Second Department (2001-2016); State District 31 Judge—Little Rock, Division 2 (2017—present)
Community Service: 1978-1986: Friends of Arkansas Educational Television Network (board member, chair); 1986-1996: AETN Commission (chair, 1993-96); 1980-present: Second Presbyterian Church—elder, deacon, Sunday School teacher (1980-2001); men’s group leader (1998-present); 1997-2007: Campus Court—judicial outreach program for local schools; 2000-2005: National Judicial College—faculty, “Courage to Live” Program (training judges to implement outreach programs for local schools); 1993-99: Little Rock School District (LRSD)—coached Odyssey of the Mind teams at Gibbs, Dunbar, and Mann (1993-99); 2001-2005: LRSD--volunteer judge for debate tournaments; 1981-83 & 1994-96: Arkansas Bar Association—House of Delegates (tenured member); 1981-2001: Arkansas Bar Foundation—Writing Awards Committee (chair ’89-’01); 2003-present: Bowen School of Law—adjunct faculty; 2006-12: American Bar Association, Judicial Division—Traffic Court Committee
1. What experience, knowledge, and attributes of yours make you a good judge?
Experience. Presiding over 15,000 traffic proceedings annually, I’ve learned that each case is somehow different from dozens to which it is quite similar. Each must be treated with fresh eyes and an open mind.
Fairness. The Rule of Law must be observed, respected, and applied. I explain my rulings in contested matters, disapproval of plea bargains, and, when appropriate, approval of plea bargains.
Adaptability. Since 2017, I’ve presided over 300-500 domestic relations and real estate cases annually (assignment from circuit court).
Academic integrity. I stay current on changes in the law and seek input from prosecution and defense bars before adopting new interpretations.
2. What are the three most important areas where the administration of justice can be improved in district courts, and what improvements have you made during your time as judge?
Overcrowded jail. Without jail space available, there’s little deterrence to offenses like driving without a license (DL). For folks with multiple priors who owe multiple reinstatement fees, I employ sentencing incentives aimed at getting DL’s reinstated—reduced fines, less community service, etc.
Failure to appear (FTA), suspended DL. About 1/5 of cases involve FTA, for which summary DL suspension is authorized (not mandated). About 1/4 of cases involve DL issues. I don’t suspend DL’s for FTA. I don’t formally charge FTA unless I find prima facie evidence of valid notice to appear (this is often lacking at arraignment). I try to get defendants into court and to get them to get their DL’s reinstated.
Adequate representation. I appoint lawyers on cases with charges that might result in a jail sentence.
3. Do you believe in leveling the playing field between pro se parties (parties without lawyers) and parties represented by counsel, and if so, how does your court do this?
I appoint lawyers in cases where the defendant appears pro se if jail is even a remote possibility. See 2.3 above. If no jail is possible, defendants may represent themselves. I use “Informal Trials” for the pro se docket. Witnesses testify in narrative fashion. When a witness thinks he/she is done, I ask prosecutors if there is more they feel should come into evidence. Rather than let defendants cross-examine, I ask them to state what issues they have with the testimony and fashion this into questions satisfactory to defendant and prosecutor. This has worked for many years. Non-lawyers cannot be expected to absorb and follow evidentiary and procedural rules; I’ve experimented repeatedly with trying to allow pro se trials to proceed like one with two lawyers involved, and the result is always disappointing.
4. Do you believe that alternate dispute resolution (mediation and arbitration) should play a greater role in disputes that come to the courts, and if so, how should that happen?
Good question, hard to answer in the context of my dockets. I don’t see a role for ADR in traffic cases, which are all criminal in nature, as opposed to being civil or administrative. The circuit cases I hear are child support, paternity, orders of protection, and unlawful detainer. While civil in nature by law, they tend toward being quasi-criminal in practice. Possibly in the last of these, mediation could be employed, although the hearings typically involve deciding whether to issue an order of immediate possession. Having district judges preside—in lieu of the circuit judges in whose courts these cases land—itself has the feel of ADR/arbitration. Mediation in unlawful detainer cases would seem to fit better in the context of determining the amount of a final judgment, which is often not determined until after the order of possession.
